Mark Rutte takes over as the next Secretary of NATO – DW – 06/20/2024

romanian president, Klaus JohannesOn Thursday (06/20/2024), he announced the withdrawal of his candidacy for the presidency of Parliament NATOThis leaves the way open for the outgoing Dutch Prime Minister, Mark RutiAs a successor to the current Secretary-General of the Alliance, Jens Stoltenberg. The 65-year-old Romanian president finally decided to support Rutte, who is now the only candidate in the elections.

The Supreme Council of National Defense said in a statement, “The President of Romania informed (…) NATO allies of the withdrawal of his candidacy for the position of Secretary-General of the organization,” adding that Bucharest now supports Ruti’s nomination. Johannes' withdrawal makes way for Rutte's appointment to succeed Norwegian Jens Stoltenberg.

Appointing a new NATO Secretary-General requires the consensus of the military alliance's 32 member states. The appointment of Rutte (57 years old) will be formalized between now and the summit scheduled to be held in July by the alliance in Washington. Rutte is currently serving as the interim Prime Minister of the Netherlands and will leave office soon once he is inaugurated. The new coalition government in your country.

In recent days, other countries in the region initially opposed the Dutch candidacy, such as Slovakia and Hungary. They finally gave their approval to Roti. Under Jens Stoltenberg's term, which expires on October 1, NATO has gained renewed importance in the face of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and has added two new members, Sweden and Finland.

LGC (AFP, EFI)